The Manor House Governess

September 15, 2023
Castle weaves together two significant threads--a compelling queer protagonist and a deftly crafted throwback to Victorian and Regency novels--in this marvelous book. Although it's the twenty-first century, Bron finds himself in a world that's true to the historical novels he loves. He has left the boarding school he's always known to take on a new and mysterious job. He will be tutoring Ada, a wealthy girl living in a tremendous house known as Greenwood. Despite the intimidating setting, Bron soon finds himself at home, getting closer to Ada and her father. He also feels comfortable to be who he truly is, showing his feminine side and wearing clothes and jewelry that make him feel confident. But Greenwood is far from perfect, and that's embodied by Ada's brother, Darcy. The handsome yet volatile man shows interest in Bron, yet their romance is blocked by Darcy's insecurities. As Bron uncovers the manor's secrets, he must decide just how much he's willing to give up for love and truth. The brooding Darcy may seem like the linchpin of the story as a modern-day Heathcliff. Bron's journey is the main focus here, though, and readers will delight in making that journey with him.

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September 15, 2023
A genderfluid governess becomes embroiled in a family's troubled past in this debut novel. Bron, who uses he/him pronouns and experiments with his gender representation by dressing in romantic vintage fashions, is fixated on Victorian literature, particularly the works of Jane Austen and the Bront�s, taking as his name Bront� Ellis in a nod to sister Emily. When he's offered a position as governess to a 9-year-old girl, Ada, in Cambridgeshire at the aristocratic-sounding Greenwood Manor, he jumps at the chance to make his fantasies of living in the stories he loves a reality. While the manor itself is as grand as he could imagine and his boss, Mr. Edwards, is welcoming and accepting of Bron's identity, a sense of unease prevails. Ada is oddly precocious and her standoffish older brother, Darcy, at times seems to enjoy needling Bron about the way he dresses. Despite this, Bron finds himself drawn to Darcy, who seems to reciprocate the feelings, particularly after he tells Bron that he's gay. When a fire breaks out unexpectedly in the manor's library, family secrets begin to come to the surface, including Mr. Edwards' difficulties accepting his son's sexuality with the grace and open-mindedness he has shown Bron. As Bron learns more about the family he lives with and works for, it becomes clear that not everyone is who they claim. Castle is clearly a scholar of English literature, borrowing themes and motifs from campus novels, aristocratic satires, romantic novels like Pride and Prejudice, and gothic works like Jane Eyre. But the novel is too intent on making those connections clear; Castle telegraphs them with prolonged conversations on literature and Bron's own realizations of connections both large and small to fictional works, failing to meet the seeming goal of creating a queer addition to any of the genres the book focuses on. The modern timeframe is also a stumbling point; the Brideshead-esque setting and the eccentricities of the Edwards family are anachronistic and sudden mentions of Facebook are jarring. Doesn't quite rise to the legacy it aspires to.

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September 25, 2023
Castle’s atmospheric if undercooked debut is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice with a sprinkle of Agatha Christie. Brontë “Bron” Ellis, 22, takes a governess job at Greenwood Manor in Cambridgeshire. An orphan, he was raised at an all-boys boarding school where his androgynous appearance made him a target for his peers’ taunts (“it was his femininity they reviled—that is, when they weren’t trying to court or coerce him into playing the girl’s part in their nighttime rendezvous, because they always called him pretty in the dark”). The Edwards family welcomes him with warmth and gives him the home he’d always longed for. Bron comes to love his pupil, Ada, as a sister and is drawn to her 29-year-old brother, Darcy, whose aloof personality is similar to his literary namesake. A fire in the family’s library, a mystery surrounding the identity of Ada’s biological parents, and an intriguing backstory involving Darcy’s romance with a university colleague make Bron feel like he’s inhabiting one of the Victorian tales he loves. Though the romance feels rushed and the discussions about gender between the protagonist and Darcy lack nuance, the prose richly conveys Bron’s obsession with the 19th century. This will appeal to dark academia fans. Agent: Caroline Eisenmann, Frances Goldin Literary Agency.